An Update on Food Labeling & Health Claims Litigation in the Food & Beverage Industry in the USA

The Food & Beverage Industry has been around for some time and they have been ruling the supermarket aisles, our pantries and bellies. However, in the last several years, they have seen their large profit margins and their ability to tell the consumer what is good for them shrink. They have been forced to adapt their products to fall in line with growing consumer demands.

Change is hard. It is easier to change labels and add ‘functional’ ingredients to ‘clean up’ labels and make them more appealing to consumers than it is to change the fundamental operation of multi-billion dollar companies. So it is not surprising that their choice to respond to consumer demand by changing labels, NOT their products, has been met with animosity.

Food labeling and health food claims have been under much scrutiny via litigation. This ‘Food Politics‘ blog post gives a clear and comprehensive overview of what is happening and what you need to know as a consumer.

Food and beverage companies have faced a tsunami of false advertising lawsuits over the past five years. But how big of an issue is this for the industry, who has been targeted, and what strategies are working, both for plaintiffs and defendants in these cases? In this special edition, we also look into labeling issues and trends, from healthy, Paleo and grass-fed claims to NuTek’s potassium salt petition….

Marion Nestle is a Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is a writer of six prizing-winning books and long-time blogger about all things related to the food system. Her blog, ‘Food Politics’ is well worth bookmarking.